Chapter 207: Guardians

Chapter Two Hundred Seven
Guardians

Dunn sighed.

“At the time, I really was trying to send you away, because what I had to do involved a secret belonging to the Church and the Nighthawks. But Kernli’s death left my head in chaos. For a moment, I could think of only a poor excuse, which gave you the opportunity to return and see it.”

“What secret?” Klein asked, feeling far more at ease.

For a moment, he nearly forgot that outside there still existed the suspected offspring of an evil god, or a mythical creature.

Dunn considered his wording and said, “In the mystical field, there may exist a law. Heh. Although I have not read many books, I still know what ‘law’ means.

“This law is called the Law of Beyonder Characteristics Indestructibility.

“Beyonder characteristics cannot be destroyed. They cannot be reduced. They merely transfer from one vessel to another.”

Klein’s eyes instantly widened. Then understanding dawned, and he asked thoughtfully, “For example, when a Beyonder loses control, they leave behind Sealed Artifacts, mystical items, or the main ingredients of potions?”

“Yes,” Dunn answered with a solemn nod. “Not only Beyonders who lose control… it is the same after normal Beyonders die.”

“The same…”

Klein chewed over Dunn’s words and vaguely began to understand what the Captain had been doing at the time.

As thoughts turned, he suddenly remembered something: after the tailcoat clown died, a thumb-sized blood sphere with a faint blue tint had floated beside the corpse. At the time, Frye had explained that strange changes always occurred after Beyonders died.

Dunn’s gray eyes remained deep as he continued, “But unlike Beyonders who lose control, what normal dead Beyonders leave behind is no longer a material or an item. It—it is roughly equivalent to a potion. A potion of the corresponding Sequence, only lacking certain supplementary ingredients.”

Roughly equivalent to a potion… roughly equivalent to a potion!

Klein’s pupils shrank. It was as though a bolt of lightning had split the darkness in his mind, illuminating countless things at once.

He suddenly understood many matters. He understood why, even after materials became extinct, Beyonder pathways did not necessarily break off as well.

Aside from using substitutes, one could simply rely on the remains of corresponding Beyonders.

This should also be one of the reasons that at high Sequences, only finished potions are given out. Another reason is to prevent formulas from being leaked through Beyonder methods like divination and spirit channeling…

One conjecture after another surfaced in Klein’s mind.

Dunn glanced toward the door of the Nighthawks’ recreation room. His voice was low as he explained, “Many years ago—uh… exactly how many years, I do not quite remember. At that time, I was not yet captain of a Nighthawk team. By chance, I discovered this issue. After discussing it with Daly, who had not long since become a Beyonder herself, I reported it to the Sanctuary immediately.

“The Sanctuary instructed me to keep it secret and gave me two choices. Heh. That is why I am the one explaining it, rather than Daly. Whoever exposes the matter takes responsibility.

“The first choice was to pretend I knew nothing, like the vast majority of Nighthawk captains and deacons, and continue letting the Sanctuary arrange the relics left after Beyonders die normally.

“The second was for them to give me a special, simple ritual and corresponding techniques, allowing me, within a certain time limit, to directly consume the objects produced by the convergence of characteristics. Mm. This applies only to one’s own pathway, only to Sequences equal to oneself or lower.

“This can strengthen my Beyonder characteristics and make me more powerful as well. In dream-related abilities, I am now not much weaker than a corresponding Sequence 6. That was also why I dared to deal with Madam Sharon.”

“So that is how it is… There is actually such a thing…”

Klein exhaled slowly.

He finally understood why he had been unable to think of a reasonable explanation before, no matter how hard he racked his brain. The problem had been a lack of prerequisite knowledge. No amount of imagination could fill that gap.

Mm. It fits this so-called Law of Beyonder Characteristics Indestructibility very well… If the characteristics keep accumulating like this, will quantitative change eventually cause qualitative change?

Klein’s thoughts drifted outward.

Dunn looked at him and revealed a bitter smile.

“I chose the second path, but not because I wanted to become stronger. If I truly wanted strength, the best and most direct method would be to digest the potion as soon as possible and obtain advancement.”

“Yes,” Klein agreed sincerely. “If you gather characteristics from the same pathway, from Sequences equal to or lower than your own, while it strengthens you, I imagine it also increases the risk of losing control?”

Dunn shook his head solemnly.

“No. These are things left behind by normal Beyonders, not by those who lost control. Mm, after learning about the acting method, I reexamined the matter and realized that it increases the difficulty of digestion.”

“Then why did you continue?” Klein asked in astonishment.

Dunn put his right hand into his pocket, wanting to feel for his pipe, only to discover that he had left it in his office.

He shook his head self-mockingly.

“I said just now: I did not consume their relics in order to become stronger.”

At this point, he paused. His gaze lost focus slightly as he looked toward the gaslight opposite, now dyed with an eerie blue. In a low voice, he said, “They were all my companions.

“We experienced many things together. We dealt with monsters in the darkness and mad cultists together. Some of them saved me, and I saved quite a few of them as well. We walked through quiet nights. We fought in places the public could not see. We resisted danger. We guarded one another’s backs.

“I could not bear to part with them. I remember Little Itt collapsing and crying on the spot after his first dangerous mission. I remember Adelaide. Heh, he was Rozanne’s father. He once used his arm to block an evil curse for me. I remember Dawn—she was a girl with a warm temperament like daybreak. She always quietly recorded everything we went through. I remember Kernli. Though he was not tall, he knew many things. He could play the seven-stringed lute, sing, and tell stories. He was more like a poet than Leonard… I could not bear to part with them.

“I hoped to continue fighting beside them. To fight the monsters in the darkness together. To execute those mad cultists together. To guard Tingen City together. That was why I chose to consume what they left behind.”

Light seemed to flicker within Dunn’s gray eyes. In that moment, a great deal of his steadiness and depth quietly broke apart.

The corners of his mouth rose slightly as he continued, “In my dreams, they are still with me. Adelaide likes reading. He always stays in the solarium reading books. Every time, he tells me to discipline Rozanne and make her mature faster, so much so that Rozanne always complains that I am becoming more and more like her father and is always a little afraid of me. Little Itt is restless. Every day, he goes hunting in the forest. Dawn always stands at the window of her bedroom, watching us chat. Kernli, who has only just joined, made himself a seven-stringed lute and sits there playing and singing… I could not bear to part with them.”

“Captain…”

Klein murmured the word almost instinctively. His vision nearly blurred. He could not help raising a hand to wipe his eyes while silently cursing, Damn it, Captain, you are cheating me out of tears…

But now I finally understand why your progress with the acting method is so slow…

Klein sighed soundlessly.

“What a pity. Old Neil died from losing control. Otherwise, he would have brought us so much joy.”

Dunn withdrew his gaze and lowered his head, pinching the bridge of his nose.

After several seconds, he lifted his head and smiled bitterly.

“This was a selfish decision.

“I did not know what Adelaide, Kernli, and the others truly would have wanted. I selfishly made the choice for them.

“I really am a selfish person.”

“No…”

Klein shook his head fiercely.

…

In the sofa area of the reception hall, Leonard watched Megose pull out handful after handful of hair. His expression stiffened once again.

Megose repeatedly lifted her cup and drank water, appearing increasingly irritable. Her face faintly distorted as she looked at Leonard.

“For some reason, I suddenly feel a little uncomfortable.”

Leonard Mitchell was about to reply when he suddenly saw Megose raise a hand and claw at her own face. With a tearing sound, she pulled off a strip of flesh—flesh soaked in blood.

“My face is a little itchy.”

Megose smiled apologetically. The corners of her mouth split all the way to her cheekbones, revealing white teeth and bright-red gums within.

XXXX!

Leonard silently cursed, feeling the situation had deteriorated far too quickly.

His lips moved. He turned his head and listened for a moment. Then his face changed color, turning iron-blue.

He barely squeezed out a smile and said to Megose, who kept scratching her face and tearing off bloody flesh, “I am going to the washroom.”

“All… right…”

Megose’s tone grew strangely drifting.

She stroked her belly and said, “My… child… is a little uneasy…”

Leonard did not answer. He quickened his steps and approached the partition.

After entering the corridor, he cast a deep look at the saint’s cinerary casket Dunn Smith held, then sighed helplessly.

Immediately afterward, his expression turned resolute.

“Captain, I am afraid there is no time. We must immediately resolve Megose and the baby in her belly. Otherwise, all of Tingen City will suffer tremendous damage. This is not something that can be avoided simply by evacuating the nearby residents, and I know you already sent a telegram for that.”

Dunn furrowed his brows slightly and asked with extreme seriousness, “Are you certain the situation has deteriorated to this extent?”

“Yes. In no more than three minutes, Megose will mutate. Her child will be born ahead of schedule,” Leonard answered with certainty.

As he spoke, he glanced at the thick blood vessel wrapped around Klein’s hand, saying in a heavy voice, “Sealed Artifact 2-105? Give it to me. I can make better use of it.”

“All right.”

Klein handed Vascular Thief to Leonard without the slightest hesitation.

That had been his plan from the beginning.

Just then, Dunn Smith tugged once at his collar, patted his thin black windbreaker, and spoke with firm resolve.

“I will go out first with Saint Selena’s ashes. After ten seconds, you come out. Remember, silently count to ten before coming out to fight. At that time, no matter what state I am in—good or bad—you must not waste time. Aim at Megose and the baby in her belly and launch your strongest attacks.”

After speaking, he turned away. Holding the cinerary casket, his figure upright and steady, he walked toward the partition.

“Captain…”

Klein called out, his lips suddenly dry.

“Captain,” Leonard also said in a low voice.

Dunn stopped. He turned back, his expression gentle, his voice mellow and warm.

“Do not worry about me. I am not alone. Adelaide, Dawn, Little Itt, Kernli—they are all fighting beside me, no matter what danger we face.”

He paused, his gray eyes kind as he looked at Klein and Leonard.

“And do not be nervous. We are guarding Tingen City.”

The corners of his mouth rose, revealing the same smile he always had.

After saying that, he did not linger. His gaze turned toward the outside, and his steps remained firm as he passed through the partition, only the hem of his black knee-length windbreaker lifting slightly behind him.

“Captain!”

Klein and Leonard shouted at the same time, tears streaming down uncontrollably. Yet Dunn did not slow at all.

We are a group of poor wretches forever fighting against danger and madness.

But even more than that, we are guardians.